Discovering Broken Bells eponymous album has been a personal massive shot in the arm, as the project brought together two luminaries who I had essentially forgotten about, or just completely taken for granted. Consisting of The Shins frontman James Mercer and Gnarls Barkley knob twiddler Brian ‘Danger Mouse’ Burton, both had vanished from my consciousness in the past few years. I recall being completely engrossed by The Shins ‘Oh, Inverted World’ years ago, and playing their brand of endearing indie pop to death, before never following up on further material and consigning them to my own personal dusty archive. I neglected Danger Mouse meanwhile, purely for the fact that Gnarls Barkley were just so damn omnipresent, and my own irrational inability to warm to Cee-Lo Green. When I first heard of this project, I was intrigued, as it seemed like one of these ideas that just might not work on paper.

       A folky/poppy songwriter armed with an acoustic guitar, working with a mercurial and unpredictable talent behind the desk, it could easily go horribly awry. But work it has, in solidly spectacular style, and we might be looking at one of the albums of the year. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. On first listen, I couldn’t decide which songs stood out due to sheer consistency, and could only come to the conclusion that this is so good, that it is essentially one long brilliant song. Both parties have managed to strike a perfect balance to create an expertly controlled blend of seamless dreamy pop. Danger Mouse(although he claims it is experimental) utilises and endless back of production tricks to best of his ability, without once going overboard. A variety of lush strings, gentle brass, melodic keys, enchanting new sounds, and the most delicate and precise beats permeate this record throughout, never once getting well worn or repetitive. Stepping up to the plate, Mercer’s songwriting is nailed on the head, sharp and concise, with melodic hooks you could hang the proverbial coat on. He is a million miles away from the singer I was familiar with in the ‘Oh! Inverted World’ era. Back then, his voice could feasibly been that of any quirky indie band with a two album lifespan. On this record, his voice has grown immeasurably, and now has a commanding and assured maturity, singing his his lyrics with a marked assertiveness.

He also manages to add great variety to his voice, which lends itself to progression of this album and keeps you coming back for more. With this combined, the cohesiveness and sound of this album is a serious achievement. ‘Citizen’ is a great example of Danger Mouse’s array of skills and Mercer controlling his song. It reminds me of what Air were doing with their Virgin Suicides soundtrack, except much more dense, accomplished and resonating, thereby allowing you immerse yourself in their creation of a dreamy, ethereal soundscape. After much deliberation though, I reckon the final track ‘Mall and Misery’ represents the peak of the album, and it is fitting that it should finish on a high. With gorgeous strings and plucking guitar building as an intro, it kicks into a forceful electronica kick/snare combo, before Mercer stamps in with commanding yet gentle vocals, and a ridiculously catchy jangly riff, before a chorus of brilliantly harmonised vocal patterns. Its probably the best example of Broken Bells letting loose and’rocking out’, yet the razor sharp production and song pattern remains so consistent, which is also markedly appropriate for the sheer mastery of the overall long player.

Since I started listening to it, I’ve found it irresistable, and and constantly flick back to start all over again upon completion. Albums like this are actually vital, because they manage to restore your faith in what REAL pop music is all about, and for Broken Bells, that is already a sizeable achievement in itself. However, this album is so impressive in so many facets, I think that logic of thinking may be mere minutiae. Its top quality, go check out, it won’t disappoint! (Way better than Gnarls Barkley anyway…)